“What is truth?” Commentator Jason Ripley notes this is a question Pontius Pilate poses to Jesus before he is crucified. Here in John, Jesus asks the question to those gathered. Whether in Jesus’ time, Martin Luther’s Middle Ages, and our medial landscape today the question “What is truth?” haunts us. We long for days in which we can point to a shared truth with our neighbours. Whether it’s our own digital media silos today, those controlled by empire and church in the Middle Ages, or those controlled by Rome in ancient times. We cannot escape the weight of the question, “What is truth?”
Part of Reformation history is Martin Luther pointing back to the simplicity of the gospel that answers truth is faith in Jesus Christ. No matter what the church hierarchy or the emperor decrees, Jesus’ truth of love prevails. Today we’re in a similar situation where we struggle to point to news sources we all can agree upon. As a church we point to our unity in Christ. Despite our different lived experiences and interpretations of the political world in which we live, we point to the same Jesus. He is the bedrock who does not change, even if the way we interpret theologies continues to change.
Martin Luther saw the need for the Bible to be translated into German, a language that everyday people speak and some could read. As opposed to worship being helped primarily in Latin, a scholarly language reserved for monks, priests, academics, and the nobility. Luther and his adherents sought to flatten power structures, so that more people participated in the life of the church. The word “liturgy” means “work of the people,” and is way it’s a Lutheran tenet to involve as many people in worship as possible. It is something we continue to celebrate today as a congregation gathered today. How else can we even participate in worship without a shared language? “What is truth?” Truth is proclaiming the Word of God in song and proclamation. Truth is gathering around the table to affirming our baptism, welcoming new members. Truth is gathering around the table to receive the bread and the wine.
Jesus wanted to give his disciples the gift of truth, rooted in him. He knew the disciples would be scattered by the challenges that lay ahead. Jesus’ arrival is the gift of truth, the unity that would ground the disciples in Jesus’ love. They don’t see it in advance. Only after Jesus’ death and resurrection does the Spirit fully open their eyes to what Jesus is saying here.
In many ways we are like the first disciples. At times we also wonder why we need Jesus’ truth to set us free. After all, we have a 24/7 news cycle. We receive the news in real time, live video, podcasts, news reports, op-ed’s, blogs, vlogs, social media accounts, and more. And yet we know that faced with truth through a fire hose, we’re losing our ability to discern truth more than we ever have in recent memory. The proliferation of conspiracy theories, the rejection of proven science, the suspicion of trans people, migrants, refugees, immigrants, higher education, and more. I remember laughing when the flat earth societies started to proliferate and now such ideas as whether the earth is round have fallen back into question. We are both technologically advanced and living in a pre-Galilean age all at the same time. Together we need to think theologically about technology. We need to think about how technology mediates truth in our lives…
Back to the Future – Young Luther edition (featuring Chris McDonald)
Pastor: Martin Luther understood the power of technology. He helped spark the Reformation at the same time the printing press became accessible for mass printing. Too bad we don’t have someone from the past who could travel to the future to tell us about what it was like in those days. If only…wait…who is that?
Luther: Guten Tag! Greetings friends.
Pastor: Young Luther, is that you? But how?
Luther: Jawohl, ik ben Martin Luther. I’ve travelled from the Middle Ages to bring these Reformation Day greetings.
Pastor: Welcome, Luther!
Luther: You know, in our time we didn’t call it the Lutheran church. How strange to name a church after me! We just called it das kirche – the church. Your Reformation celebration is quaint!
Pastor: Thanks, Luther. Can you tell us a little about the power of the printing press in your day?
Luther: Naturlich! You know the printing press isn’t that different from how do yo say [mispronounces] social media…
Pastor: Social media?
Luther: Ja! With a printing press we could go from asking dozens of monks transcribing each page at great labour to printing hundreds of copies in one go! You take books for granted. Look at all these hymnals in front of you. You don’t know how good you have it! And everything on these digital books you carry around in your pocket. Das Handy! [German for cell phone]
Pastor: I guess we do get a bit spoiled. We complain when there isn’t wifi available in a café for example.
Luther: Wifi, the work of little angels and demons! You tap notes into your little handys and they fly all over the world. However, we evented the meme you know.
Pastor: You did? You mean memes we share on social media?
Luther: Genau! We depicted theological adversaries in woodcuts and printed hundreds of copies to share with peasants and labourers who couldn’t read. But they understood memes we printed and distributed!
Pastor: So you had your own meme wars?
Luther: The pope depicted me in unflattering ways and likewise we depicted him in grotesque ways.
Pastor: Do you think that was a bit childish? Do you regret any of the meme wars?
Luther: Ha, you think everything is high theology? Sometimes we just need to thumb our noses at the powerful and make sure the faithful receive the bread and the wine each Sunday. Some things are complex and other things are simple. We cannot forget to do the simple things. But it’s water under the bridge. Pope Leo XIV seems better than Pope Leo the X! Too bad about his Boston Red Sox. Go Jays! What is a World Series anyways, that only involves teams from the US and one team from Canada. You have strange customs. Perhaps your continent is in need of another Reformation!
Pastor: Your welcome to visit any time Luther to help.
Luther: You have my writings. More importantly you have the gospel. The gospel of Jesus Christ will liberate you. You are already set free by grace. Receive the free gift of faith! Well I need to get going. This Delorean isn’t going to fly itself.
Pastor: Are you going Back to the Future, Luther?
Luther: Here I stand, I can do no other.
Pastor: Thanks, Luther! He has given us some food for thought. We’ll continue reflecting upon the Reformation, upon how Jesus as the truth sets us free, and the joy of welcoming new members to share in this life in Christ. Amen.
